Chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander will tomorrow set out the government’s plans to spend £100bn in infrastructure before the end of the decade, after a spending round which left more questions than answers.

The UK’s leading contractors were united this week as they stressed the need for the chancellor George Osborne to “fast-track” infrastructure in the spending review, in what was described as his “last chance” to address construction industry decline.

Royal Imtech’s group chief executive will take “direct responsibility” for checks on the UK business, which will also have to seek group approval for bids over €15m and recruitment decisions, it was said today.

S Dudley & Sons’ creditors were owed more than £10m when it fell into administration – but subcontractors could still be in with a chance of getting some of their money back, according to administrators.

The top 50 contractors in March won contracts worth £1bn more than in the previous month, with the five leading contractors alone securing £1.34bn of work, according to construction business research unit Glenigan.

The government must show investors what returns they can make on UK infrastructure if it is to stand any chance of generating the billions of pounds it is targeting, leading contractors said this week.

Bam Nuttall is taking a selective approach to tendering that includes focusing on projects with “secure funding” and avoiding jobs that are retendered several times, according to chief executive Steve Fox.

The North Tees hospital trust planning the UK’s first pension fund-backed hospital scheme has not ruled out alternative forms of finance after bidders pulled out of the £300 million project amid alleged concerns over the “risk and reward” structure of the deal.

The man leading a challenge to the Sweett Group’s board has said he would not rule out taking the consultancy private again if he wins back the chairmanship – five years after he led the firm onto the Stock Exchange.

Months of secret talks between Costain and May Gurney have come to a head with a proposed merger, but with Kier showing interest in a rival bid, what will May Gurney’s board be considering when evaluating any proposed new offers?

Bouygues UK has reached financial close on a £19 million mixed regeneration deal in London’s Maida Vale that will see the council release land for housing to fund a new school and education facilities.

Two flagship government payment initiatives were under scrutiny this week as Carillion pushed out payment terms to 120 days under the umbrella of prime minister David Cameron’s scheme aimed at supporting SMEs.

The Department for Education and the Treasury insisted today that the first of the £2 billion privately financed Priority Schools Building Programme will be complete by 2015, but said they are still “scoping” the markets for finance.

The Department for Education has rejected claims the £2 billion private finance element of the Priority Schools Building Programme has been delayed after not one of the 219 schools has secured funding - but would still not give specific details of start dates.

UK Guarantees could open the door to pension fund investment in construction projects, but goverment needs to get schemes on the ground to show the market how the initiative works in practice, investors have told MPs.

Carillion chief executive Richard Howson has said he anticipates construction operating margins of up to 4 per cent in the short-term, while defending the firm’s approach to how it pays its supply chain.

Galliford Try construction chief Ken Gillespie has said protecting margins in the difficult economic climate is about “being brave enough” to walk away from projects as clients become “far more commercial”.

Kier boss Paul Sheffield has warned of an industry backlash against public sector pressure on contracts and payment, while also confirming there will be some “regrettable people cost” as the firm consolidates offices.

Imtech UK’s chief executive has stressed that his company’s financial position and growth plans are “unchanged” after its Dutch parent group was forced into urgent talks with its banks following an £86 million write down and problems in its Polish business.

Housing and civil engineering activity caused a “moderate fall” in work in January with a sharp decline in supplier performance, but new orders improved and confidence picked up, latest research suggests.

The Metropolitan Police has said the question of whether the aviation light was functioning properly on the Vauxhall Tower, where a helicopter today struck a crane, will form part of the investigation into the incident.

Business secretary Vince Cable has hinted at a shake up of insolvency rules - just a fortnight after the construction industry called for urgent action to better protect smaller firms when companies go bust.

Contractors and investors will have to “look procuring authorities in the eye” and gauge whether they have “the wherewithal” to procure PF2 schemes within 18 months, a leading project banker said this week.

Departments across government have “new PFI” pipelines of projects and are looking at centralised procurement units, similar to the Education Funding Agency tasked with the £2bn Priority School Building Programme, it was confirmed today.

Laing O’Rourke’s former ‘chief in waiting’ is unlikely to return to UK construction in the coming years as the country faces a dearth of major projects - and has urged the government to be more decisive over the country’s infrastructure.

Mitie will retrain and redeploy mechanical and electrical staff into its facilities management division as it moves away from being an engineering services subcontractor on major projects, the firm has told CN.

Lifting the lid on a “mammoth” £635 million tunnel that could also link to London’s super sewer has provided a perfect showcase of this “exciting business of civil engineering and construction”, according to its deputy project director.

The number of construction companies going out of business looks to have dropped significantly in the third quarter of 2012, as total insolvencies across industries in England and Wales hit a five-year low.

Chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has pledged to cut through the uncertainty around policy, regulation and schemes such as UK Guarantees following the first meeting of a forum bringing all corners of infrastructure into one room.

A string of local authorities from Brixton to Manchester are looking at partnering with private sector firms to unlock development through local asset backed vehicles, according to Kier’s property director.

The first batch of schools to be procured under the private finance initiative will go to market “around the end of this year” while a wider announcement on the PFI model will be made in the autumn statement in December.

Talks for the next cycle of Asset Management Plans have started a year earlier than usual to avoid the usual “boom and bust” work cycle, according to Galliford Try’s group managing director for construction.

The long-awaited enabling works at Hinkley Point C look set to start in January – but EDF could still ‘walk away’ unless the government makes a clear stand on nuclear, Kier’s chief executive said today.

A leading infrastructure fund has played down the impact of the government’s review of the under-fire private finance initiative - but said schemes are being delayed by the Treasury’s call for evidence.

Exclusive: another 70 posts at a second Bison factory are at risk after Laing O’Rourke told staff this afternoon that it is proposing to reduce shift patterns and merge some positions with its pre-assembly facility.

Exclusive: Laing O’Rourke director and former Olympics construction chief Howard Shiplee has called on government to commit to nuclear and show investors that the UK is a place they can ‘get work done’.

The chair of the Infrastructure UK steering group said government remains in ‘two minds’ over its commitment to the private finance initiative, despite being determined to find ways of funding UK infrastructure.

Sir Robert McAlpine has topped the contractor table for the second time in four months after securing another brace of high-profile London schemes. The firm won £276m of work last month, according to construction business intelligence unit Glenigan.

Government says its UK Guarantees scheme could guarantee risk on an estimated 230 infrastructure projects - so does that open the gates for the Chancellor’s plans for British pension funds to invest in UK infrastructure?

The Treasury will be looking closely at Laing O’Rourke and Interserve’s £237m Alder Hey hospital and the Mersey Gateway, to gauge the role of the UK Guarantees scheme in major projects, according to KPMG.

Morgan Sindall’s managing director Graham Shennan has welcomed a £31 billion boost to two major UK growth markets - and said now is the time for the country to be bolder about how it tackles UK infrastructure.

Contractors have welcomed a £31 billion boost to two major UK growth markets - in the same week the government announced it would use its balance sheet to guarantee up to £40bn of infrastructure projects.

The government will use its balance sheet to guarantee up to £40 billion worth of projects from the 500 schemes in the National Infrastructure Plan, providing the industry with the kick-start it has been calling for.

EXCLUSIVE: Miller Construction will continue to take advantage of recruitment opportunities as some of the biggest contractors shrink and realign their UK businesses, its chief executive told CN today.

The Berkeley Group agreed a £5 million settlement with former director Tony Carey because his age discrimination case risked running into tens of millions of pounds, according to chairman Tony Pidgley.

Damaged relationships between institutional investors and banks must be repaired if a new partnership model aimed at getting infrastructure projects moving is to succeed, a senior banker warned this week.

Employers have refused a pay rise for construction workers because they say industry faces more cutbacks, redundancies and liquidations – and companies are trading at negative margins “just to try and stay afloat”.

Half of clients are still placing lowest price ahead of quality when awarding work, while some contractors are continuing to underbid by up to 20 per cent, Bam Construct’s managing director has told CN.

The government is calling on every organisation in the public sector to publish their own procurement pipelines and either sign a best practice procurement pledge or work with their supply chains to develop a list of commitments.

Five directors leave Laing O’Rourke - including the head of its PFI and investments division and its infrastructure operations director - after a number of high level appointments in commercial, nuclear and the Middle East.

The new planning framework is likely to be a “breath of fresh air” to the construction industry and a major contributor to “getting Britain building the homes the next generation needs”, according to planning minister Greg Clark.

A collapsed joint venture that put a £4 million hole in Mouchel’s profits last year is now the subject of a High Court battle, with two subcontractors chasing the consultancy for over £500,000 it says it is owed by the JV.

A £160 million refinancing deal that hands more than 55 per cent of the Miller Group to outside investors is not a signal that Keith Miller will step back from the family firm, he told Construction News.

Kier reported a nine per cent rise in profits for the six months to December 2011 this morning - but says the next 18 months will see pressure on construction margins and a delay in outsourcing rewards.

The chief executive of Infrastructure UK has a multi-billion pound question to answer – how do you make roads, bridges and tunnels irresistible to investors? But Geoffrey Spence is feeling upbeat about a solution.

Energy and power will provide the best opportunities for global revenue growth over the next 12 months, but a lack of government leadership is still a barrier to encouraging private investment in infrastructure, according to a global survey out today.

ISG chief executive David Lawther responded to a £3 million blow to profits today by stressing the growth in overseas markets - and suggesting that UK supermarket and retail bank work could “bounce back quickly”.

The committee of MPs that slammed the private finance initiative as poor value for money has warned the government against creating new forms of private financing “by the back door” which carry the same “defects”.

All options remain on the table for the long-term future of premium homes builder Cala, including a takeover by a private equity house or a float on the Stock Exchange, its chief executive has told Construction News.

Treasury representatives are meeting with leading pension fund members at least twice a month, with a view to making a public announcement by the 2012 Budget on how they intend to open the gates to UK infrastructure investment.

A £4.5 billion regeneration project in Brent, an £80 million roads job in Luton and the Northern Line extension have been given a boost by government plans to give councils more control of their business rates.

Smaller construction firms are being more aggressive in the way they manage their business as turnover continues to rise and fall in the face of economic uncertainty and government cuts, new research has found.

Nearly 90 per cent of contractors believe the government proposal to halve the Feed-in Tariff rate will lead to a major fall in customer demand for solar panel works, according to the Electrical Contractors’ Association.

Sheffield City Council is proposing to increase its share of the borrowing needed for its £1.2 billion highways maintenance private finance initiative, reducing the financial commitment of the contractor that lands the scheme.

Bournemouth Borough Council will seek a special risk assessment into Mouchel’s annual results next month after councillors agreed to outsource the local authority’s finance division to the consultancy firm.

The value of UK construction mergers and acquisitions reached £434 million in the third quarter of 2011, compared with just £20m in the same period last year, according to the latest research from Grant Thornton.

Interserve and Costain showed no sign of re-launching their Mouchel takeover bids this week, despite the firm confirming it is open to “serious” acquisition approaches and a dramatic fall in its shareprice.

The economist who made the case for Crossrail told Construction News this week that a proposed £50 billion airport hub in the Thames estuary could create a four-fold return for the UK economy over 50 to 60 years.

The construction industry has put forward an alternative to the much maligned private finance initiative, in which construction and procurement experts could become “middle men” in the contracting process.

The number of construction companies that entered voluntary liquidation or were placed into administration in England and Wales fell sharply in the second quarter of 2011, according to the Insolvency Service.

Travis Perkins has reported a 20 per cent boost in pre-tax profit for the first half of 2011 - while also predicting more consolidations in its market as competitors struggle with the challenging climate.

ISG will manage infrastructure for the opening and closing ceremonies at the Olympic Stadium, along with the fit out and removal of temporary facilities at all the other venues, the company revealed today.

The companies behind an apartment development at Marconi House on the Strand, London, have launched legal action against the hotel chain whose contractors they claim were working on the roof when a fire broke out last week.

Outsourcing giant May Gurney has reaped the rewards as the public sector looks at how best to deliver services, with revenue up 18 per cent to £571.4 million and pre tax profits increasing 13 per cent to £24.3m.

Further evidence that construction output grew in the first quarter of 2011 was offered today - but expectations for the year ahead were largely negative with public sector work falling away and private sector sentiment remaining weak.

Galliford Try expects its full year results to be “significantly ahead” of market estimates, the company said today as it revealed a £532 million house building order book along with £1.8 billion of construction orders.